One’s action ought to come out of an achieved stillness:not to be mere rushing on. — D.H. Lawrence

The days are definitely getting longer. A new era is dawning for our country and our new President has hit the ground running. So am I wrong to want to linger a while yet in stillness?

With Imbolc just around the corner, we can begin to feel the building energy for the coming days of warmth. But they are not here just yet and while we can see that Winter’s days are numbered, it does not yet seem time to send out our tender sprouts. In order to have a productive, healthy season of growth, it seems to me that we should continue the silent work of letting our roots grow, and be nourished by that which is still unseen.

So, for a little while longer, I encourage the doing of less. Less of everything, the better to know what we should do when the time is right.

Here, from Leo Babauta, blogger and author of the bestselling, The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essentials, are words of real wisdom:

“Do Less means much more than being productive. It goes to the heart of everything we do, of our society. Do Less is nothing less than a two-word manifesto for living.

“Here’s how the two-word manifesto of “Do Less” can change everything:

“1. Do Less buying. If you spend less, shop less, acquire less, then you will own less, need less, get into less debt, be in better financial shape, have less clutter, and have more time for things that are truly important.

“2. Do Less busy-work. Instead of running around doing lots of little things, slow down. Do Less. Live a calmer, more peaceful life. Be content to sit, to do nothing. Relax a little. Smile and be happy.

“3. Do Less managing. If you are in a position of authority over others, whether it’s as a manager, executive, or parent … the less you do the better. Many people over-manage, or over-parent. This gives their employees, or children, very little freedom, room for creativity, room to learn on their own, to succeed and fail. The less you do, the more others will figure out how to do things. Do little things to guide and teach, but for the most part, back off and let them be.

“4. Do Less communicating. Less talking, less yelling, less arguing, less emails and IM and Twittering, less phone calling. While I think communication is extremely important, and should be one of the keys to any relationship, I also think we do it too much. Especially as most of it becomes nothing but jabbering at each other, with very little actual listening. It is noise.

“Let silence into your life. Let stillness pervade our minds. When you do communicate, make it count, make it sincere, and more than you talk, listen. Make every email count. Only IM when it’s necessary. Spend less time on the phone and Twitter and Blackberry and iPhone, and more time with humans, more time with yourself, more time in the present.”

There are several other important suggestions in his article, but I’m going to wait and share them with you tomorrow. Because I am myself needing to do a little less!